Protecting the Most Vulnerable – A Statement from Archbishop Beach on New York’s Recent Abortion Legislation﻿

Published February 28, 2019

Last week, politicians in the State of New York passed legislation enabling the killing of unborn babies throughout all nine months of pregnancy, right up until the moment before birth. A full-term baby can now be killed. This legislation is a disastrous development for all of us. One of the foundational responsibilities of the State is to provide physical security to the vulnerable, and none are more vulnerable than babies. I am profoundly saddened by the blatant disregard for the value of life exhibited by the politicians who have done this and by the evident celebration exhibited in the New York City skyline. They have not only abdicated their responsibility to protect the vulnerable but have facilitated their destruction and murder. Pray for them, that God by His goodness will lead them to repentance (Romans 2:4).

Beyond the damage this “Reproductive Health Act” will have on women, men, and families, the killing of unborn babies undermines the State itself. Abortion not only ends the life of a human being, it denies the world all that she or he would have contributed to society. Future leaders, artists, teachers, doctors, and engineers are being denied the opportunity to fulfill their God-created purpose.

Abortion is the greatest moral issue of our time. The legislation and attitudes that threaten life are not going away anytime soon. Neither are we. Our Christian commitment to protect life, from conception to natural death, is literally written into the Anglican Church in North America’s Constitution and identity as a Church. This is something that all practicing Christians should be passionate about, and it was encouraging to see the next generation of youth participating in the Life Summit and March for Life a couple of weeks ago in Washington, D.C.

We are proud to partner with Anglicans for Life and support them in their mission to help equip every Anglican Church with the resources to ensure women have real options and the on-going support they need to choose life for themselves and their children. The effects of this awful law can be minimized as we raise the conscience of the culture and as churches work together with local pregnancy resource centers to inform, educate, and make available resources to women. These centers offer far more life-affirming help and support than what the abortion clinics and those who profit from the killing of the innocent ever could.

I encourage you to live out the Gospel and facilitate a culture of life in your community. There are so many ways any and every person can help: from having casual conversations with friends to supporting pregnancy resource centers; from providing free childcare for a couple who has adopted a child to political action. Most importantly, be willing to share what Jesus Christ has done in your own life. Please join me in prayer that our communities and our countries will be transformed by the love of Jesus Christ, will repent of these evils, and will protect the next generation.

Written by The Most Rev. Dr. Foley Beach. He was elected the Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) on June 22, 2014. He is also the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the South, headquartered in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. This article originally featured on the ACNA website.